Method of making closure plugs



Dec, 27, 3949 w. J. OCONNO R METHOD OF MAKING CLOSURE PLUGS Filed May 5, 1944 INVENTOR.

WALTER J. O'CONNOR BY K:

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 27, 1949 METHOD OF MAKING CLOSURE PLUGS Walter J. .OiGonnon, Pittsburgh. -Pa..,- assignor to aAmer-ican' E1ange -:& .Manufacturing .00., .Inc., New ,Yprk,.N..X-,,.a corporation of Illinois :Applica-tionMayh, 1944, Serial No. 534,261

' --1 Claim. 1

This invention relates toclosnreiplugs for con- .tainers, particularlyfi heavy -..containers .such as steel barrels and-drums and to methods for making such plugs.

Closureplugs :ior steel hanrels and drums presently in use are of two generalztypes. 'One,:which is theolderand l'ess eil'ective, has a headwhich extends a substantial distance laterally and: is 'desi-gnedto compress a'wide thick gasket against a fiat seat. *Some of thesearemade of cast iron io while others, not quite so numerous, are pressed from sheet metal and,=solong as-no particular refinements are required; canine-made of a single piece of such-metal.

The other type; commonly-referred to as theidd "flush type, receivable-in special fittings having a tapered-gasket engaging seat at the -mouth thereof has becomernore prominent of late and is higl'i-ly-efiective. -""fhey, however, incorporate a number of accurate refinements in a muchtiO smaller element. They are thus difficult toproduce out of one piece of metalunless they are formed byidie casting. -Efiorts to-make flush type plugs out of cast iron-have been-unavail ing,

'due to the weakness and other undesirable 'char- 25 acteristics of thatmateria-l.

The other manneremployed in the past f or making such plugs has been topressor stamp parts" 'therefor'out offisheet-metal. -After such parts are machined andiinished'they have'to be 30 secured together. A number-of the-operations performed .are expensiveones. -Also,- the materials employed had to. be of good I quality with the result that the :finished productswere more comparable to a'precision' partthan to -the'-'type 5 of production item one would'expect to findas a closure plug. A need has accordingly long "been-deli; to "simplify the -manufactureof drum closure plugs from sheet metal and it-"is-bel-ieved that-the plug, and method of making the same, -4

of the instant invention meet ti-rat need.

The invention concerns a-shpet-nretal plug and ating the-plug. Nevertheless'this' head can be made as a simple stampingandhe completely '50 "finished in one operation.

1 The body portion of the plug likewise formed a simple'mannerys ince a number of the eleorients 'of a complete-plug previously carried by thehody portion. are now-fiu'znshed by the head-:65

portion. The securing o'fthehead to the body simply done by a simplegwelding or -brazingprocess which .can be quickly and .easily .,performed. Nevertheless the finished plug has allthe essential characteristics to makerit fully eitective; while the same are provided with less effort then washeretofore thev case. I

It is accordingly an object, of, this inventionto provide a two piece closure plugwhich-is simple in construction and canhe produced with a mini- -mum' of effort.

It is anotherobject of the invention to provide a method for makingzsucha plug.

Still another object of the-invention is-toprovide such a plug which maybe made of relatively low grade material andtheparts of which may be secured together in a. very simple fashion.

Other and further objects ofthe invention will in part be obvious and will in part appeargas this description progresses and by. reference to the accompanying drawingin which:

Fig. 1 is a topplan-view of one form of the plug made-inv accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section in elevation taken on lines. 3-3 of. Fig. 1. V

Fig. dis, a top plan view of a slightly modified form of the plug of Fig. 1.

Fig.5 is a cross-sectiontaken on lines 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view, of a further modification of the plug of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of the plug of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section of. a. fragment of the plug taken on lines 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragment in elevation of the plug of Fig. 6 taken at a 90 degree angle with respect to the showing in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on lines iEi-l0 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on lines H-II of Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the parts of the plugs are secured together.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 11 a plug, generally shown at 5 is shown as having a headportion 6 and a body portion I originally formed as separate pieces but here indicated as secured together.

The head portion is generally in the form of 'a ring or annulus B, with tapered inwardly extending lugs 9 extending inwardly thereof at opposite ends of a diameter. This portion can be simply and accurately made as a simple stamping whose inner edge 8a corresponds in diameter with the interior wall of the body portion 1; The diameter of its periphery 8b is reater than the diameter of the body u. ie plug .or reasons that will appear hereinafter.

The body portion 7 has a bottom wall In with a side wall H therearound, the bottom part of which is screw threaded as shown at [2. Above the threaded portion [2 the side wall II is inset at l3 to form the inner wall of a gasket seat. The body portion 1 is first pressed into cup form and, when formed with the threads l2 and the inset I3, is complete except for making sure that the upper free edge I la is true and in a plane at right angles to the axis of the threads 2.

The head portion 6 and the body portion 1 are now ready for securing together. This is accomplished by accurately aligning them so that the inner surface 8a, of the head, and the inner surface of the wall ll extend from one to the f other without interruption. The portions are then brazed or welded together throughout a zone l5, common to both portions. This zone of joinder is a complete annulus forming a leakproof joint of the width of the wall portion H at its inset part l3.

The securing of the head 6 onto the body I completes the plug in a simple but adequate manner. Not only is the plug equipped with a necessary head, but at the same time it has lugs 9 with which to actuate it and the boundary of its gasket seat is completed. That seat is bounded at its inner face by the surface I 3, at its lower side by the uppermost of the threads i2 and at its upper side by the under face 80 of the outwardly extending portion of the annulus 8. This seat is equipped with a gasket [4 (Fig. 2) to engage with a gasket seat on the bushing into which the plug is inserted. Gaskets of this type are designed to be engaged with tapered gasket seats on the bushings and hence are confined in all directions. It is thus important that the head 5 be secured to the body in a plane at right angles to the axis of the threads I! so that the gasket is compressed evenly throughout its circumference as the plug is tightened. It is also of importance to have the peripheral surface 8b of the annulus 8 concentric or symmetrical with respect to the threads l2 and the inset surface l3. Thus the surface 8b, which is designed to engage the gasket seat on the bushing and act as a stop against undue compression of the gasket i l, will come into contact with the bushing seat all the way around its circumference and not at one point before another. All of these important features are provided in the instant construction even though the same be formed ,by simple operations.

In the Fig. 11 showing, the joining of the 'parts 6 and l by a metal, different from that of which they are made, is shown. This joint is .a brazed one employing one of the common braz ing materials. To facilitate the joining operation this material would be supplied in a complete ring of the same width as the thickness of the body portion of the plug at the part 13. Hence the holding of the parts and of the brazing material during the securing would be a simple matter. In addition to the brazing ring a suitable flux would be employed in accordance with well known brazing practice. Then when the parts to be joined are properly heated, a strong union between the head and body is provided, which union is also a leakproof joint. If the brazing is done properl no cleaning up or jinishing of the gasket seat surfaces would be 4 necessary, though such finishing, if desired, could be accomplished in a very simple manner.

The modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is generally similar to the form of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, so

5 that the same reference characters are applied to the comon parts and the description of them need not be repeated. Instead, however, of providing lugs 9 for engagement by a suitable wrench, the plug of Fig. 4 is provided with a complete bar I6 across the interior diameter of the head 6. Here however, the joining of the head and body is shown as being accomplished by welding instead of brazing. This is indicated by the absence of brazing metal at the zone of joinder H. A weld of this type can be readily made in accordance with modern practices by causing the bodyportion l of the plug to act as one electrode and by engaging the upper surface of the annulus 8 by the other electrode. The latter would have an annular work engaging face coinciding in dimensions with the free upper end of the wall H. By interposing a ring of suitable welding rod between the parts to be joined and passing a suitable electric current therethrough, a smooth, effective joint can be made very quickly and simply.

While the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 4 would require the use of holding fixtures during the securing operation, to properly align and hold the head 5 and the body I, the modification of Fig. 6 enables the securing to be carried out without the use of any such devices. In this form the body portion of the plug is the same as previously described so carries the same reference characters. The ring 8 is likewisethe same. In place of the lugs 9 however, the ring 8 is provided with a pair of lugs l8 having tapered locating fingers struck from them, as shown at E9. The fingers is, as shown, are turned downwardly from the plane of the lugs i8 as best shown in Fig. 10. This downturning of the lugs i9 is accurately accomplished so that their outer surfaces 29 (Fig. 10), where they depart from the body of the head, lie at 45 the extremes of a diameter which is the same as the internal diameter of the plug body 7.

Another pair of locating fingers 2! is also formed from the inner face of the ring 8 and is turned downwardly, as shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9. These fingers lie on a diameter of the head at right angles to the diameter passing through the centres of the lugs l8. Here again, the points on which the underfaces 22 of the fingers 2], (Fig. 8),, depart from the undersurface of the head 8 lie at. the extremes of a diameter which is substantially the same as the interior diameter of the plug body 1. This plug head may accordingly be accurately located on the body to which it-is to be secured solely by means of the co locating fingers carried by it. The use of any additional equipment for such locating is rendered entirely unnecessary. Nevertheless, no additional operations are required since the fingers l9 and 2i can all be formed and turned downward by a 65 simple continuance of the-die operation employed in forming the head portion 6.

The actual brazing or welding of the head and body, to secure them together, in the form of Fig.

6 is the same as is described with respect to Figs. 70 1 and 4. The only additional feature to note is that by holding the parts in the upside down position while securing them together, the locating fingers l9 and 2| will not only serve to locate the body portion of the plug with respect to its 75 head, but willalso serve to properly locate any ring of brazing material or welding rod which might be used. By, in effect, providing a construction which incorporates its own fixtures, this form of the invention further reduces the expense of production required without reducing the excellence of the product.

It is believed that the foregoing description teaches how to simplify plug production without sacrificing quality of product. It is also believed that changes and modifications could be made in the above teaching without departing from the scope of the invention. It is accordingly intended that the description and drawing are to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The method of making a closure plug for containers, comprising forming a cup shaped body portion having a cylindrical side wall with a free end in a plane at right angles to the axis of said side wall, stamping an annular head portion out of sheet material having an internal diameter the same as the internal diameter of said cylindrical side wall and an external diameter greater than the external diameter of said side wall and with locating lugs extending downwardly from the inside face of said head portion, registering said head and body portions, by means of said locating lugs, with their internal surfaces in alignment and securing the same together by means of an annu- .1ar leak-proof joint common to the free end of said side wall and the underside of said head portion.

WALTER J. OCONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

